Author interview: Janina Grey
Pagan romance
In our continuing series of interviews, we have the last of our Paranormal romance authors today. Witches, cauldrons and magic, oh my. If that’s your thing - snap up a copy of The Big Book of Romance anthology to read more as there are four stories of things that go bump in the night. Thirteen established romance authors show us a tantalising glimpse into their book worlds with some compelling and enchanting short stories.
Today we interview one of those authors, Janina Grey. She is a witch and an assault counsellor in real life, and uses those skills to help readers explore the world of paganism while writing stories that heal.
Describe the world your story sits within
Bealtaine Fires, along with all four books in the Earth and Sky Series, is based in the Adirondack Mountains, in a town called Demilune, New York. Both Demilune and Earth and Sky Retreats are fictitious settings, but are fashioned after very real locations in upstate New York.
Demilune is the Janina Grey version of Half Moon, NY and Earth and Sky retreats was born after volunteering a few years with Hospice at Camp Erin (Camp Fowler) on Sacandaga Lake.
Earth and Sky is a rustic campground with a lodge and outbuildings, including cabins for the staff, hiking trails, campfire pit, and beach for swimming, kayaking and canoeing. It sits on the edge of Sacandaga Lake, surrounded by a fortress of towering pine trees and perpetually smells of evergreen, freshly mown grass, and campfire.
If you travelled in time, when would be your choice? Would you prefer magical or technological means of travel?
I would like to rewrite history and travel back to the 15th century to stop the persecution of women accused as witches that took place in the centuries that followed. I would prefer magical, since I am a witch after all.
If you could go anywhere for your next holiday, where would it be and why?
I would love to return to Scotland to finish researching IN THE NAME OF LOVE. We had the opportunity to visit Edinburgh and spend a day in the highlands recently. Three weeks was not long enough and I would like to get back to the highlands. Also, I met a lovely gathering of witch sisters whom I miss terribly and would love to connect with again.
What is the next project?
I currently have a few cauldrons bubbling at the moment. LACED IN YOUR LEATHER (fourth book in the Earth and Sky series) is ready to be queried. I am finishing up a bit of non-fiction with my memoir WIP. And when I need something lighter to focus on, I have been working on my time travel trilogy based in Scotland, Long Island, NY, and Mohawk Valley. And yes, we are going to rewrite history with this one.
What are the hardest and easiest aspects of writing for you?
The easiest aspects of writing is coming up with the plots and characters. They create themselves in my head and then tell me what to write. And they argue when I don’t do as they say!
The most difficult aspects of writing is finding the time to write in between working full time as a domestic and sexual violence advocate/crisis counselor and living life with my true hero and research assistant, my husband David. I seem to do my best writing around 4:30 a.m. but then that means losing snuggle time with my hubby. So yeah, that’s the most difficult aspect of writing.
Like to explore more of Janina’s writing? Check out her website.